A global goal and targets for the post-2015 education agenda, discussed last month at the Global Education For All Meeting in Muscat, Oman, have been announced today. This is the first important step in a process that will culminate at the World Education Forum in Incheon, Republic of Korea, in May 2015 and at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2015.

The proposed new overarching education goal aims to drive the international community to: Ensure equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030

This goal comprises seven new global education targets:

Target 1: By 2030, at least x% of girls and boys are ready for primary school through participation in quality early childhood care and education, including at least one year of free and compulsory pre-primary education, with particular attention to gender equality and the most marginalized.

Target 2: By 2030, all girls and boys complete free and compulsory quality basic education of at least 9 years and achieve relevant learning outcomes, with particular attention to gender equality and the most marginalized.

Target 3: By 2030, all youth and at least x% of adults reach a proficiency level in literacy and numeracy sufficient to fully participate in society, with particular attention to girls and women and the most marginalized.

Target 4: By 2030, at least x% of youth and y% of adults have the knowledge and skills for decent work and life through technical and vocational, upper secondary and tertiary education and training, with particular attention to gender equality and the most marginalized.

Target 5: By 2030, all learners acquire knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to establish sustainable and peaceful societies, including through global citizenship education and education for sustainable development.

Target 6: By 2030, all governments ensure that all learners are taught by qualified, professionally-trained, motivated and well-supported teachers.

Target 7: By 2030, all countries allocate at least 4-6% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or at least 15-20% of their public expenditure to education, prioritizing groups most in need; and strengthen financial cooperation for education, prioritizing countries most in need.

All governments are now asked to support these targets in national, regional and global consultations on the post-2015 education agenda and in the ongoing discussions in New York at the Open Working Group on the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Next year, the proposal will be put forward for approval at the World Education Forum in the Republic of Korea in May and at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.

Meanwhile, the indicators to measure the above targets also need to be defined or developed. We have started a series of blogs on this site debating the ways that the five outcome-oriented targets above can be measured. The first two on school readiness and learning outcomes are already posted.

Join us in these discussions via the comments section in our blogs. By working together we can ensure we come up with cohesive ways of shaping ambitions and measuring progress post-2015 to ensure that no-one is let off the hook, and no-one is left behind.

Thank you for this post. I’m pleased that the targets address the gender equality and the most marginalized.

I was wondering why the Target 6 does not explicitly mentions on the equity aspect like Target 1 to 4.
As the deployment of teachers seems to be one of the issues in the equity in education, I thought it would be the targets would be more powerful if the words “with particular attention to girls and women and the most marginalized” are added to this target as follows.

Target 6: By 2030, all governments ensure that all learners are taught by qualified, professionally-trained, motivated and well-supported teachers, with particular attention to girls and women and the most marginalized…

Alternatively, I think that another expression can be added as follows.
Target 6: By 2030, all governments ensure that all learners are taught by qualified, professionally-trained, motivated and well-supported teachers, responding the needs and expectations of the learners.

As I understand the targets are agreed after the long debate, my question might not be relevant, However, I just hoped to ask my simple question here.
Thank you so much for this opportunity.

The proposed educational goals and targets are great. They will help a lot of population to have an equal social environment and economic resources. As a consequence, we will get a better life, but why until 2030? Why do not get an agreement before this year?

Target 6 is very much abstract and contexual. There’s a need to alternative thinking on teacher’s role more as a facilitator than a teacher. Promotion of students self (paced)-learning and parent’s involvement in teaching and learning must be ensured as it plays crucial in child’s overall development. In most developing countries, parentt’s role in education is almost none. Let us bring back parents to teh schools and appreciate their presence in the school. This will make a huge difference in child’s learning..

I think target 6 is the best thing ever added to education goals. For a long time we have all known that teachers play a key role in children learning and yet we have ignored making concerted effirt to ensure that we have great teachers who are motivated, encouraged and supported to make a difference. It’s a high time we did this and i’m glad post-2015 MDGs for education have included this as a key target. Well done people- we can do it- for our children especially the most vulnerable.

I thought we had learned that using umbrella terms such as ‘the most marginalised’ does a disservice to specific groups who were neither named or included in the first round of MDGs.
For example, now that the UN has officially recognised disability as a cross-cutting issue in the reduction of inequalities, we need to develop monitoring and accountability tools to ensure that Education for Some is replaced by Education for All which means what it says.
The indicators under development do not seem to reflect this policy.

I fully agree with the insight and development plan. Unless education system is improved and maximum awareness is created in masses, development will be a long distance dream. Being an educator I am ready to put in all possible by me.

Thank you for the interesting article.There is more to overseas education than just learning a language. In fact you develop various skills and experiences which are more valuable and interesting than the education provided in a classroom setting.

Education for all, also has to include children and youngsters with an intellectual disability. Most marginalised should be made more specific, otherwise this vulnerable group will stay again out of any education program. Inclusive education, partial inclusive education or special education should be mentioned seperately in a new target (no 8).

Target 1 is of utmost importance. Unfortunately this target does not link “quality early childhood” with the mother tongue of the child. By omitting this, target 1 legitimises indirectly national language policies which up to now define the respective colonial language as medium of instruction during parts or the totality of the curriculum. The exclusive character of such language policies is one of the main reasons for the exclusion of a huge number of children especially in multilingual countries.

This article is very informative. There is a saying, “Change is a process, not an event.” In the same light, the proposed targets will be achieved but in due course of time. Oman is making intensive & extensive efforts to make education system more & more efficient. Some insights on what education in Oman is Click here & will be in the near future Click here.

Why do we need 7 targets? All we need in one: By 2030 all children will receive a quality education to prepare them for life in a ……..etc.
If only governments knew how to define, measure and deliver quality education we might get somewhere.

In as much as target 6 is important, it is very crucial to be specific on what motivation means in various context. Moreover, it will be crucial to think of how such can be measured or even proved as true as we try it. Apart form that, all the targets seems to look at quality of education in a more output and input perspective, an example is the assumption that highly trained and motivated teachers is a quality orientation. While this is true, it does not clearly reflect the process part of quality education e.g. the teacher learner interactions.